


Paranoid

by AkiraCassidy



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bathing/Washing, Birthday Cake, Birthday Party, Birthday Presents, Boywife, Character Study, Cooking, Crying, Damian Wayne Needs a Hug, Declarations Of Love, Diapers, Dick Grayson is a Ray of Sunshine, Dick needs help, Feeding, Feelings, First Love, Good Parent Talia al Ghul, Kissing, Lazarus Pit, Leaving Home, Living Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Mental Anguish, Mental Regression, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Politics, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Sexual Tension, Sharing a Bed, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Wheelchairs, damian help him, domestic life, return of death, revive, steal corpses, teeth washing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:47:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25255657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkiraCassidy/pseuds/AkiraCassidy
Summary: Dick Grayson was shot in the head, unable to bear his loss Damian agrees to lead the league of assassins when he turns sixteen in exchange for his mother giving him the means to use the Lazarus pit on his beloved brother. Even if it means abandoning the family and becoming the enemy of Batman. What Lazaro brings is not something they expect.  Talia proposes to kill him and try his luck again, Damian says he'll take care of him until he makes the Dick he return.With Grayson's return, domestic life, while appearing tranquil, will bring more problems than the lunatics to Gotham.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson/Damian Wayne
Comments: 24
Kudos: 91





	1. People think I'm insane because I'm frowning all the time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I wouldn't write anymore until I finished my other work but this has been eating my head for several days.

The month of April is about to end and like the previous days, Damian is sitting on the tomb that bears the name of **Richard John Grayson**. He has not returned with his team, only entering the mansion to sleep when Alfred insists on doing so. Bruce looks at him through the window, Selina has told him to let him have his mourning period, Dick was his first friend, his brother, his teacher. It would be hard for him to get over losing Grayson.

Batman was not fast enough, the doctors could not save him, the bullet went through his brain killing him after a long surgery. Bruce had not demanded his son return to patrol either, he was trying to be as understanding as possible. The old butler approaches Damian carrying a tray, the sun is almost down and Robin has not yet eaten breakfast. Red Robin and Red Hood rush into the mansion.

  
“Talia kidnapped my girlfriend,” they say in unison, they haven't coordinated to look for Batman. “She's in the fire land with a machine that will freeze the ocean, demands that you go to free them.”

  
The statement is accompanied by a video from Talia, showing Stephanie Brown and Isabel Ardila. Both are tied to a supposed supersonic nitrogen cannon with which Talia explains she will freeze the sea. Stephanie is a hero, but Jason's girl is just a civilian. Selina asks Bruce not to take Damian, to let him have his moment and she will take his place. If they launched the rocket, they would reach the Fireland in 15 minutes, but it would take about 6 or 7 hours to get back.

Dick Grayson's coffin has sensors that detect movement, it has a two-second response time as soon as someone starts digging.

It will take Alfred five minutes to leave the mansion and get to the grave, for Barbara at least half an hour. Two minutes after the rocket is launched the safety barriers of the mansion fall.

  
Ubo and 4 other colossal-sized men with a bulldozer make their way into the cemetery, break the stone slabs and with a single shovel from the machine discover the coffin. The alarm sounds, the men now with shovels finish digging the ground. The butler rushes in with a shotgun in his hand, stopping instantly to see who it is.

He puts the gun down and looks at the child with compassion, Damian looks back at him, his eyes are red from crying so much that they are still crying because of the tears that threaten to keep coming out. The men raise the coffin, open it to see that Grayson is the one interior, a helicopter comes down to place the box inside. Damian advances towards Alfred, the old man welcomes him with open arms, the servant is also crying.

“I'll miss you very much, master Damian.” Says the man before the imminent departure of his grandson. A group of ninjas leaves the mansion carrying boxes of transport where they take Robin's animals.

“I'll miss you too, Pennyworth. I'll take my animals.” Answer Damian. The smaller boxes are also placed in the helicopter. Robin takes the logo that rests on his chest, pulling it out. He hands it to Alfred and starts to back away.

“Please take care of Master Richard.” Asks the butler, covering his mouth with his hand.

“I will, I hope we can see again.” The young man says goodbye as he gets into the vehicle. The rest of the ninjas fill in the hole where they got the coffin and then proceed to leave. When Barbara arrives, Alfred is still kneeling on the spot that was once a tomb, wiping away his tears.

In the land of fire, there was never a bionic hydrogen cannon or whatever it was. Stephanie and Isabel are tied up inside a makeshift igloo properly dressed for the cold. They played a trick on them, both Reds in love didn't think it could be a trap.

“Batgirl to the rest of the family, Robin's gone and taken Nightwing's body. Agent A. filled me in on the situation, this was planned by Robin and her mother. I'm trying to follow him, but he's 20 minutes ahead of me.” Barbara has taken one of the planes. “I'm about to take off for Europe, I'm following the coffin signal.”

“Batgirl,” Batman speaking. “Robin's not moving to Europe.”

“What?!” 

“He wouldn't leave the coffin's sensor, you're following bait, it must be heading west across the Pacific Ocean.”

“Nobody flies in the Pacific, it's huge and very risky.”

“Remember it's Robin you're talking about. If you move a plane or a boat, it will be impossible to find him in such a stretch of water.”

“Batman, but what about Dick, he took him to the pit.”

“If we hurry it should take us at least 4 hours to reach you, Damian will have almost 5 hours of advantage over us and who knows how many days of logistics already coordinated.”

“You're not going to give up that fast, we have to do something.”

“Call the rest of the family, Red Robin and Red Hood mobilize their teams as well. Even if you have the time on your side, we outnumber you.”

Damian opens the tuxedo bag that Richard was buried in, a quick dip in the pit, that's all he needed and Dick would be back. Talia and Ra's watch him from the entrance of the cave, a retinue of guards and maids wait behind the young man. He takes off his white shirt as well as his tie, his shoes follow. The body is stiff on the floor of the cave, on one side of his head, the huge scar from the surgery extends.

The youngest one takes off his shoes too, that well is the purest that Al Ghul has, it is located at the border between the Koreas. Talia had begun negotiations with the leader of the northern territory in order to exploit another water source that was in that man's domain. He holds the body in his thin arms and goes into the liquid leaving his brother's body floating in the waters.

The body sinks, long seconds that seem like hours to the young heir's perception. The green water bubbles up and Dick stands up screaming, his eyes stay white, his body trembled violently. Damian hurries to hold him, Richard shakes, grunting. As soon as Damian's little arms are around him, he collapses, faint. The big men take the hero out of the cave, the family follows close behind, to get into the cars waiting for them. Nightwing's head rests on the kid's legs.

Talia's son runs his little fingers over the spot where the scar was, his skin that was pale and dull now shines with beautiful red tones on his cheeks and nose, full of life. He breathes slowly, his chest moves to a calm sound. They begin to leave the desert behind and move further into the supposedly futuristic city. The landscape changes as soon as they reach the real city, Talia identifies herself by speaking perfect Korean and a military caravan guides them to the Ryongsong residence.

“You will be placed in one of the rooms of this palace,” Talia says. “We'll spend the night here, tomorrow we'll move to one of the residences, choose three guards to watch over the circus boy until he wakes up.”

“I'll take Ubo and those two.” Damian points to the man carrying Grayson, a couple of maids lead them down a long corridor to the room they'll be occupying, leave Dick on the bed. The teenager drags one of the armchairs next to the mattress, sitting on the edge of his teacher.

…

“Bruce.” Superman descends into the plane. “I've already found Damian.”

Clark doesn't sound excited or happy.

“Tell me where I'll mobilize the family. Dick's alive?” Bruce is moving his hands over the ship's controls.

“We should turn around and go back.” Says Clark.

“No, why?”-Insists Bruce.

“They're in Pyongyang, we can't get into that territory,” Clark speaks with sadness. “We could start a third world war of catastrophic dimensions.”

“What? There's nothing we can do? Dr. Manhattan, he can pose as.”

“Bruce, Bruce. This time we lost; we can't start a war just because your son took the body of another one of your sons to revive him. Damian's not doing anything wrong, not if you look back at it. Besides.”

“Besides what? Clark. What?”

“Your ex is doing business with the leader of that country, I heard her warn about our arrival. Right now, he's communicating with our president. If we lose government support.” Bruce lets out a long sigh and turns off the computer.

“This is Batman, the search is off. Return to the hall of justice as soon as possible.”

“You did the right thing, Bruce.” Clark rests his hand on the bat's shoulder. “Eventually they'll come back, I can feel it.”

…

Damian opens his eyes wide when he hears Richard cough, takes the wet towel on the bedside table, and rushes to press it over Dick's mouth. From his nose comes greenish liquid, water from the pit that continued to heal his brain. He coughs hard and sneezes out all the fluid in his head. His eyes settle on the boy, he takes him by the shoulders looking at him with amazement.

“Damian?” Ask in a wobbly voice.

“Yeah, Grayson, it's me, Damian. How are you feeling?” The hero's expression doesn't change.

“Damian.” He repeats, closing his eyes again. Falling asleep on the pillows. The guard on duty stands by the door, saying nothing, not moving. The minor takes off his dirty suit and gets into bed with his revived teacher. He presses his ear to his chest, stopping to appreciate Grayson's heartbeat. He still smells at the chemicals of the pit and the fluids they used to embalm him.

Talia clears her throat as she watches her firstborn share a bed with the man who was once Batman. Damian rubs his eyes sitting on the bed. The sun slips through the large window keeping the room lit.

“It seemed to me that the appreciation you had for this man was not entirely normal.” Says the killer crossing her arms across her chest.

“Mother is not what you think.” The young man is trying to defend himself.

“I'm not the best detective in the world, but I'm not blind. You gave up everything your father gave you to save this guy. It was the same thing I did to your grandfather when I met the detective.” The woman moves forward, behind her a group of maids carrying clean clothes for Damian and his brother. “This was your decision son; I don't object as long as you keep your promise to me.”

“I do, Mother. I gave you my word and I will keep it.”

“He still not awakes?

“He did so in the morning, coughed up water, looked at me, and went back to sleep.”

“Richard Grayson” Talia takes the shoulder by shaking it.

“Stop it, you're going to hurt him.” Damian's scowling.

“Wake up, Richard.” Talia insists.

“Mother, wait. I think it's better to let him wake up when he wants to.” The young heir speaks, Dick's eyelids move. Mother and son look at him, he finally opens his eyes and turns his face to the youngest.

“Damian.” Says Richard.

“Grayson, how are you feeling? Are you okay? Does anything hurt?” The teenager still on the bed puts both palms on either side of his partner's head. Dick's wobbly hand reaches out and touches the boy's face.

“Damian.” He repeats, the young man takes the hand that's on his face.

“I'm Damian.” He says Talia sighs disappointed from behind.

“Well, it couldn't all be that easy. Right?” The woman makes a sign to the maids. “You'll have to take care of him until he's fully recovered son, or I could kill him and throw him in the well to see if there's any luck this time.”

“Damian.” Talk Grayson again.

“I can do it. You took care of my grandfather for a year until he came to. I will, too.”

“A doctor will check him later, now get up, let the maids shower and dress him.” Order Talia. “You take a bath too; we'll leave in half an hour.”

“Damian.” Calls him back the acrobat.

“I'm with you Dick, they have to clean you up to get the balms off,” Damian explains slowly. The hero's hand is still on his cheek. “We'll be going home soon.”

It's about an hour's walk from the palace to the house Talia bought for Damian to take care of Richard. It's not quite far from civilization, but it's well hidden in a small wood.

“This is our new house, a little smaller than Wayne's mansion, but it's more than enough for the two of us.” Damian pushes the wheelchair inside the house, three maids, and two back guards follow. Talia has returned to the base of the Himalayas; the maids only speak Korean as do the guards. Richard knew some of the languages, but not enough, so he would continue to speak to her in English. “We're in Pyongyang, do you know where that is? In Korea, not the Korea you'd like, don't worry we'll go there soon.”

“How many rooms should we prepare, Master?” The chief of staff asks.

“Just one, we'll use the main one. Fill up the pool, I'll go check out the yard.” The young man orders. Pushing the chair into the backyard, the pool is empty, the garden is well cared, the grass is mowed, and because it's spring the flowers are at their peak. “Do you like the backyard? I chose this house so that the Batcow and Jerry can walk free.”

“Damian.” The man turns his face to look at the boy, the doctor said he was fine, better than fine. There was no damage to his brain, no atrophied muscles. It was like he was a baby in an adult's body, he could only say Damian's name, move his eyes and head, eat and drink, but he couldn't walk or coordinate his hand movements. The specialist attributed it to possible regression from the trauma of being brought to life.

“I also brought Titus and Pennyworth. Remember them?” The youngest one goes into the garden, stops the wheelchair under a big tree, cuts a small bouquet of heliotrope, and places it on the older one's legs. “These are flowers. Can you repeat that? Flowers, flowers.”

Richard's lips open, letting out some muffled sounds. Damian takes another bouquet of the same size and places it carefully in Grayson's palm. The hand squeezes over this crushing plant.

“There's a Greek legend about the origin of this flower. Would you like to hear it?”

“Damian.” It's the answer he gets, the boy sits on the edge of the unfilled fountain.

“Clytie was a nymph who was deeply in love with Helios. “The boy begins, his little palms are on the hero's knees.” Clytie spied on Helios every day, in the morning when he left his palace and until his arrival in the west in the afternoon. One day Helios got involved with Leucothea and Clytie was extremely jealous and told the girl's father this. When Órcamo found out, he buried his own daughter alive. Helios, on learning of the tragic end his beloved had, despised Clytie, who spent her whole life watching Helios pass by until the gods turned her into this flower.”

Richard looks down at the flowers that Damian points out.

“That's why heliotropes always look at the sun.” Dick squeezes the flower in his hand and then looks at the boy.

“The pool's full and the room's ready. You want us to start making dinner?” The woman waits until Damian's finished talking so she can announce the activities. “We took the liberty of releasing your animals and feeding them. I hope you don't mind.”

“I was about to ask you to do that, they can prepare dinner, low-solid food preferably.”

“Understood, I'm retiring, with permission, master.” The minor gets up, Dick follows him with his eyes. Damian stops, looking at the hero too. The maid has left and they are alone in the courtyard. He puts his hand on his master's face, bending down just a little bit and brushing his lips, in a quick pressure

“When you understand what I did, will you despise me like Helios did Clytie?” Round the chair, so you can keep going around the garden.

One of the servants brings the chair to the table. The kid takes a spoonful of soup, checking the temperature and brings it closer to Dick's mouth, the hero looks at the curious utensil. Dinner is fully served, the cook as well as the maids stay close to the table in case their master needs something.

“Open your mouth.” Says the teenager, Dick doesn't seem to understand, Damian sighs in annoyance. “Say aaahhh”

He explains by opening his own mouth, the elder imitates him. He pushes the spoon into the cavity waiting for Grayson to chew, repeats the process until the soup is gone. He takes the next course, a cream with almost imperceptible pieces of mushroom. Starting the feeding process again, there's cubed bread, if you soak it would be easier for Richard to eat it.

“Prepare the tub.” The young man takes a piece of bread and dips it into his own soup. Pushing the food. Damian opens his mouth, showing his teeth, pretending to chew. “So, do it this way.”

He says moving his jaw getting Dick to chew too. At intervals, a few pieces of bread, a little cream. After emptying the bread basket and with a little mushroom on the plate, Richard stops opening his mouth, possibly already satisfied. Damian takes one of the glasses with juice if he gives it directly from the glass he could choke, buying a bottle is a stupid thing to do.

“Maybe one of you could get me a straw.” The servants look at each other, they're almost an hour from the city and its night. One of the back guards pulls a brown cloth bag from his vest, opens it, and pulls out a bright yellow metal straw.

“It's not new, but it can be washed.” He says, giving the object to one of the maids, she rushes to the kitchen to wash the utensil, returning immediately afterward to hand it to Damian. He brings the straw to Nightwing to drink, takes a sip, and stops to savor the sweet taste of the juice.

“Master, your bath is ready.” The first woman returns. Damian leaves the table without even tasting his own food and pushes Grayson's chair, Titus is asleep on the living room couch. In the room on the bed, Pennyworth shuffles. The bathtub is big enough for 5 people to get in, Dick is heavy, it would be hard to lift him off the chair and into the water. He'll have to call for help.

Damian lets out a long sigh, dropping his head on the bed, gets down on his knees taking off his shoes, it would be best if he wore slippers or went directly barefoot. He opens the buttons on his shirt, that's a good idea, he can take it off and put it on easily. Take the elastic from the pants, another well thought out idea, pulling them out. He's been put in a diaper on the doctor's recommendation. The young man scratches the back of his neck.

“I need a little help around here.” He shouts knowing there's a guard guarding the door, the man opens it by going into the room.

“How can I help you?”

“Sit Dick down on the edge of the tub and wait for him to call you back outside.” The man obeys, lifts Dick from the chair, enters the bath, and sits him on one of the edges with his back against the wall. After the order, the guard leaves the room. Damian pulls the diaper off, thankfully it's the kind that looks like underwear, holds Richard by the forearms, and with wobbly legs leaves him sitting in the water.

The teen rushes to open the shower head on the other side of the huge bathroom and cleans himself first. To later join Grayson in the bathtub, the teenager already understood that Dick learns through imitation. The boy takes a small bowl that the women left beside the tub, possibly for that purpose, and dips it in the soapy water dropping the liquid on Richard's shoulders.

With a new cloth, you rub the major, taking the time to clean it carefully, it still smells of chemicals. Once he notices the smell of the pit disappearing and his skin already lost all the stains from the balm they used at the funeral home, he climbs up on the man's legs. He presses his fingers on his chest, he saw Dick without a shirt before, the water had erased even his old scars, marks that Damian remembered perfectly where they were.

“Damian.” Dick looks at him in confusion, everything is new and confusing to him at that moment. The caretaker holds his palms to his face, covering his eyes.

“Cover your face like this.” He explains the trembling limbs move, it takes a couple of tries, but he finally gets it. The boy holds one of the hand showers, opens it, and wets Dick's head, hastily rubs his hair, behind his ears his neck and neck. He hears the older boy laugh when the little fingers touch his neck. The shower opens again to rinse the soap.

Damian pulls the plug of the tub to let out the used water, finishes removing all the dirt with running water, and puts some liquid soap in the corner of the cloth. He looks at Dick and squeezes his eyes tightly, the older one imitates him. The next assassin leader gently rubs the cloth on his brother's face, wipes it clean, removing the foam that was left on his face.

Now all that remains is to brush his teeth, Damian gets out of the tub, grabs his toothbrush and toothpaste, one for children that tastes nice. Again, he makes the move he expects Dick to replicate, his head backward resting on the edge of the tub. The teen is placed behind.

“Open your mouth, so Aaahhhh.” He says and Dick obeys him. He wets the brush, puts in some toothpaste, and puts it in Nightwing's mouth. “Don't go biting me and don't swallow it.”

The young man warns, Dick keeps his mouth open. The brush moves over his circled teeth, up and down on his cheeks. Cleaning the inside of his cavity. He removes the artifact and makes a movement by putting his own head straight without closing his mouth. Richard does it too. Damian spits into the tub, his brother replicates.

Drink a little from the glass, move the water inside her cheeks, and spit it out again. Bring the fret close to Dick's mouth, giving him just enough liquid to rinse off. Just get him dressed and you can go to sleep.

“You can come in.” The killer says, takes one of the robes and wraps his own body, the guard comes in helping to get Dick out of the tub, he's wrapped in a towel like a burrito and left on the bed.

“Is there anything else I can do for you?” The man asks.

“Tell me your name.”

“Taeyong."

“I didn't need anything else; I'll call you if anything happens.” Taeyong nods and comes out to take his place near the door. In the second drawer of the night table, he takes a diaper and sighs. The first thing he will teach her is how to go to the bathroom or at least how to tell when he has to go. He takes off the towel, he hasn't seen that area of Richard directly before, in the bathroom the bubbles prevented him from seeing it and he didn't get very curious about how it looked or not.

Dick kept shaving, the slightest diverts his gaze trying not to look at him too much. After death, beauty stops growing so it was plausible that it was still clean. He passes the underwear through his legs up to his knees. He pushes Richard to lie down on the bed and raises the piece completely raising both arms as a sign of victory.

He helps him settle properly on the pillows and cover himself with the sheets. While Grayson waits for him tucked in his bed Damian finishes dressing to join his beloved brother. Lit only by the bureau lamp, Dick still keeps his blue eyes on the boy.

“I'll turn off the lights,” Warn he, by turning off the lamp. He brings his little body close to the elder's the same way he did the night before by resting his head on his muscular chest.

“Damian,” Richard calls him, his hand is placed awkwardly on the kid's back. The moonlight dimly illuminates the room, the boy looks at him, his blue eyes with huge black pupils trying to adapt to the darkness. Their faces are very close, the smell of death has already been washed off Dick's skin. Damian stands up a little, fearfully brings his lips to his brother's mouth again that day.

The contact is longer this time, his lips do not move alone they are together sharing the heat of his body. Damian steps back with a warm face, he shouldn't do that to Dick, he's not in his acknowledge, he's practically a baby, he's taking advantage of him. The teenager bites his lip in annoyance with himself and hugs the older one.

“I'll hug you so you won't be afraid.” He says, and that's something Dick himself said to him before when they watched movies. Damian wasn't afraid, that was Richard's excuse for hugging him and he never complained, sometimes the hug came back.

Dick was his compass, the little voice in the back of his head that told him what was right and what was wrong. Without Richard, he felt adrift, more lost than ever. Now even though he was not completely with him, he already had a path he wanted to follow and a purpose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Twitter account:  
> https://twitter.com/CassidyAkira  
> Please leave me a comment <3


	2. All-day long, I think about things but nothing seems to satisfy me.

Talia returns as soon as she has the chance, bringing a cake that she gives to the maids when she arrives at the house. The maids move efficiently preparing and bringing the food to the yard. The woman walks through the house, takes her suitcase, and prepares her room.

“Damian, Mummy's here. Won't you come and say hello?” The murderer arrives in the courtyard following the workers. The boy is sitting by the pool and he turns a bit as he watches the woman arrive.

“Mother, welcome.” He says without leaving his place. “I didn't expect you to come.”

“Today is your thirteenth birthday, it's a special occasion I couldn't pass up.” Says Talia, moving closer. Standing holding the boy's hands is Dick.

“It's already August, I hadn't noticed”

“Have you made any progress?” Ask the woman, watching Richard move more easily in the water.

“Walk, eat, and go to the bathroom by himself.” He begins to explain. “Mmm-hmm. I still have to explain things to him with examples, if I want him to follow me; I must take his hand and he doesn't say another word but my name.”

“Damian.” Says Grayson in confirmation of what the minor explained.

“It's great progress, son.” Try to comfort him, Talia.

“I think the breakthrough has been virtually nil.” Damian frowns angrily, Dick touches the junction of the kid's eyebrows and copies the boy's expression.

“I spoke to your father a few days ago.” Says Talia.

“About me?”

“Yes, he came looking for me and started threatening me like he would the lunatics in Gotham.” Talia turns and takes a seat on one of the chairs, the table is already set. Damian holds Dick's hand and helps him out of the pool. “After all that cheap talk he asks for you.”

“Did you tell him where I was?” Dick sits at the table just like Damian.

“He knows where you are, from the day you got here. He refrained from making an incursion because of the delicate situation this country has with the others.” Talia takes a sip of tea, watches the maids put the candles on the cake, and lights them. “I told him you were fine and so was the circus boy. I didn't tell him I had a baby's mind, but he didn't need to know that.”

“Did he say anything else?”

“That they could come back whenever they wanted.” Damian blows out the candles. They start to be removed from the cake.

“I don't plan on coming back.”

“I told your father. He insisted that I should let you know you were welcome back at the mansion.”

“Mother, I want to leave this house.”

“To go back to your father?” The dishes with dessert are put in front of the 3 guests.

“No, I want to move to a bigger city. There's no TV or Internet here.” Damian takes a piece of the cake, looks at Dick, and shows him how he should eat it. “I think it would help a lot if Richard had more people to talk to or if he saw more people talking.”

“Have you thought about where?”

“The other Korea would be fine.”

“What about the cow and the turkey?”

“You could take care of them.” Talia had her long brown hair done backward.

“I'll take them to the shrine; they'll be better-taken care of than I am. When do you want to leave?”

“As soon as possible.”

…

Damian puts the key in the lock, carries a bag in his hands. The woman who helps him clean the apartment greets him from the kitchen. Dick is on the couch in front of the TV. He grabs a glass from the cabinet.

“I walked around most of the province and finally found him.” He says arriving at Richard's side and filling the glass. “Eggnog.”

“You could have waited a couple of weeks. It's almost Christmas, soon all the shops will be filled with eggnog.”

Dick drinks empty the glass.

“Damian.” He calls it up showing the empty fret, the minor fills it up again.

“How will you celebrate Christmas?” The woman asks.

“I'll make us a snack and a cake, maybe some presents too.”

“You can come to my house since my husband died it's been just me and my daughter.” The woman wipes her hands and takes her bag from the bar.

“I really appreciate your invitation, Mrs. Kim, but we don't want to be a bother.”

“They won't be a bother, son. They're welcome.” She opens the door to get out. Dick continues to stare at the TV, the half-empty glass is still in his hand.

“What are you looking at?” Ask Damian, Richard looks at him and points to the device. “One of those quiz shows, they're fun.”

Damian looks at his watch.

“It's getting late, did you have dinner?” The older nods. “Then go take a bath, tomorrow we'll go to the supermarket.”

Richard hands over the glass turn around and walk into the room. He understands everything he is told, follows orders easily, but can only say Damian's name. He lacks the will. The teen rubs his shoulders, it is December his second month in Daegu. He takes his hands to his face, sighing heavily, he has been stagnant for a month. He has not made any more progress, they go out to do the shopping, to walk the dog, to eat in some restaurants. Social contact has helped him, television and the internet keep him entertained.

Mrs. Kim speaks to him in Korean and understands him. What's wrong then? There's something not right. Leave the chair he been occupying and move into the bedroom. Dick is already clean and tucked in bed. Damian brushes his teeth and changes his clothes, tries to keep a low profile when he's out.

“On the way home, I saw a fair.” He got used to starting conversations, he's practically talking all the time. “I think we should go and see it before Christmas, it'll be crowded for those days.”

Dick's blue eyes follow him as he moves around the room undressing.

“We'll buy the tree and the decorations tomorrow. You loved decorating the tree at the mansion.” The kid starts wearing his pajamas. “So do the presents, I'm not sure, but there should be a Santa Claus at the mall. We'll go see him, too.”

“Damian.”

“You're excited to see Santa Claus, well that's something I'd expect from you.” The former Robin sits on the edge of the bed. “Tomorrow's breakfast is pancakes; I'll turn out the light. Isn't there anything else you're going to do?”

Grayson denies it. Damian turns out the light, gets under the covers. He presses his face against Dick's chest, the bigger man hugs him. They've slept together since Nightwing was brought back to life. The teenager runs his hand over his brother's face, the beard is starting to grow, he shakes it off a little so that both of them are at the same height and presses his lips over Richard's.

“Night, Dick."

In the morning, Grayson always wakes up early, but he doesn't move until Damian wakes up, too. The boy kisses him again as he has for the past few months. One kiss at night, one kiss in the morning. Two is the limit, even if the teenager thinks he's taking advantage of Dick's unfavorable situation he hasn't tried to do anything but those chaste kisses.

“Morning, Richard. You hungry?” Dick smiles and nods, clearly remembering Wayne promised pancakes the night before. He gets out of bed and heads to the bathroom, Damian to the kitchen. The older one doesn't say a word, not even the boy's name, he just sits near the table in silence. “The other day I was reading a book...”

The youngest one starts talking, while he's cooking. Just like the last few months, he's having one-sided conversations. He talking about anything and Dick hearing it, it was always the other way around.

“Do you want to eat here or can we watch a movie?” Damian offers, leaving both dishes with food. Dick takes him and gets up to go to the couch. Wayne follows him, turns on the TV, and checks the catalog of the first streaming platform he finds. Richard looks carefully at the screen, his eyes moving as the movies go by. He's reading the titles.

Her mother's doctors don't understand what's wrong, his brain function is normal, he can't write, but he can read. Damian already checked it by leaving him notes with assignments he wants him to do.

_Put the dirty clothes in the washing machine._

_Feed Pennyworth._

Chores are done when Damian gets back. He can turn on the TV and look for the series or movie he will watch. Mrs. Kim sends him to throw the garbage in the corner and he does it, a few minutes later he is back home. He points out the dishes he wants when they go to restaurants, he can't pronounce them, but he can read the menu.

“Damian,” Dick calls him pointing at the screen, that's the movie he chose. Toy Story 1, a children's film is very much something that Dick would choose. _It's like he's missing his soul_. Said the last neurologist who checked him out.

Dick rubs his eyes when the emotional scene is beginning, blinks slowly letting the tears come down from his eyes, sips through his nose, and wipes the mucus with the back of his hand. Damian takes a handkerchief from the box to wipe his brother's face.

…

March arrived and left with more speed than the teenager expected, went out to compare a gift for Dick, Mrs. Kim baked a homemade cake, and prepared a small meal. She took her daughter to make the impromptu party bigger. Damian had a state-of-the-art tablet and some clothes. The stagnation was driving him crazy. The only progress he made during those months was that Grayson learned to say _yes_ and _no_. Talia visited him twice, rethinking the proposal to kill Richard and try again. Wayne refused, of course.

“We've been waiting for you, honey. Hurry up.” Mrs. Kim probably thought Richard was retarded or something, everyone was wearing party hats, including Titus and Pennyworth. Dick is sitting in front of a cake with a couple of candles that make up number 22. Damian sits down too.

“Happy birthday to you.” The three of them start singing, the emotion shines in Richard's blue eyes. “Happy birthday dear Dick, happy birthday to you.”

Whoever was once Nightwing blows out the candles, Mrs. Kim hands out the cake, they give their presents to the birthday boy and after a while, of living together both women leave. The house is clean, the leftover dessert in the fridge. Titus is asleep in his bed and Pennyworth is still wandering around the kitchen looking for more icing.

“Do you want me to set up the iPad for you?” Ask Damian.

“Yes.” Dick answers.

“Go take a shower and when you get back it'll be ready.” Explain the boy, Richard obeys. He always does. Damian sits down on the carpet, writes the Wi-Fi password, makes an iCloud account for the device, and starts downloading the applications. All that's left is to wait, leave the device on the coffee table. “I've waited long enough.”

Whispers the teenager, he's a couple of weeks away from his first birthday since he left Gotham with Dick. What if after a year there's no reaction? How much longer does he plan to wait? How much longer can he wait? How much longer will Talia let him wait? He could wait another year, after that what? He had time on his hands, as soon as he turned 16, he'd have to take over the league, his mother was clear, there would be no extensions or time-outs. What if Dick hadn't reacted by then?

Damian lifts his knees, hugging his own legs, trying to make himself impossibly small. He wouldn't take him to the league, if he took him out of Gotham it was to keep him out of danger, if he didn't react, he would have to lock him up in one of the bases, he would take him with him when he moved. No one could know of his existence, because an attempt would be made on his life and if anyone laid a hand on Dick Grayson, he would lose his head.

“Damian,” Richard calls him, his pajamas are badly closed, he's wearing his pants backward and his hair is still dripping, no doubt he's excited about his new gift. After being revived in the pit it would take another 50 or 60 years to age one, he would still look like a 21-year-old when he was 80.

If he didn't react, Damian'll take it with him, as his lover. In 50 or 60 years he should learn a few other things, but he wouldn't be your Dick Grayson. He wouldn't be the Dick who patted him on the head, who said "you're a good boy Damian", who kissed his forehead, who taught him the value of life, who always had nice words for him even if he had done something wrong, who trusted him unconditionally, who alone truly trusted Damian.

Even if Damian didn't trust himself, Dick did. More than his own father, more than the heroes who were his team, more than that so-called family. The kid shrinks more strongly by embracing himself, inheriting his mother's intense emotions and his father's inability to express them properly. A terrible combination, the worst of all.

“Damian.” Dick sounds a little worried, sits next to the boy looking at him curiously. The teenager trembles, would he still love that new Dick Grayson? Hot tears run down his cheeks, wetting his pants. He'd look, talk and possibly smell like him. But it wouldn't be him.

“Damian.” Grayson insists. The youngest one turns to look at him, his face is red from crying. He's pouting, his lips are trembling.

“Grayson, I miss you so much.” He says, throwing himself at the old hero's chest, clutching his hands to the poorly buttoned shirt, pressing his face against his neck, sobbing. He reached his limit, his feelings container filled, and now he was spilling. “I miss you so much, I never told you when I could, and I behaved like an idiot when you told me. I like you, too.”

“Damian.” the warm hand rests on his little back.

“Even at this point, I'm being an asshole. Richard, I don't like you. I love you, so please.” His tender voice breaks bite his lips trying to recover and hiccups talking again. “I've done all I can, what more can I do to win you back?”

“Sweetheart, don't cry. I always knew you loved me. In your own twisted way.” The boy lifts his face in awe at Dick, takes his teacher’s face in his hands. “Now tell me, what happened and where are we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Twitter account:  
> https://twitter.com/CassidyAkira  
> Please leave me a comment <3


	3. I think I'll lose my mind if I don't find something to pacify.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the story is to your liking. Thank you for reading on.

Damian doesn't respond to the questioning; he throws himself at his old mentor by hugging him. Dick can feel him shivering, his little hands clenching tightly in the back of his shirt. The hero is there too, drops his head on the couch looking at the ceiling of the apartment, checks the house with his eyes. He remembers what happened. Damian's legs wrap around him and he sticks his face into Richard's neck. They spend long minutes sobbing as low as they can.

“Okay, it's over.” Dick tries to comfort him, patting his head slowly, running his fingers through his hair. He takes the face between his hands and makes the child look at it. “I'm here, I won't go away again.”

The boy's eyes fill with tears again, he tries to take his partner's hands-off. Richard still holds him firmly, without hurting him. Looking him straight in the eye.

“If you need to cry, just do it. You don't have to hide, Damian, there's no shame in feeling sad.” The teenager squeezes his eyes tight, his lips quiver. Dick approaches the boy, slowly kissing his forehead, causing the boy to cry louder. “Your hair has grown.”

He comments while looking at the boy, Damian nods.

“Are you going to let it grow any bigger?” Ask Grayson, Damian nods again.

“You like long hair.” Affirm the minor by reassuring himself.

“You're right, I do like it.”

“You're not upset?”

“Why should I?”

“Because I brought you to life.” Dick sighs.

“Not exactly upset, it's a strange feeling.” One of his hands takes the black hair that's grown back on the nape of his neck, the other still coining the lovely face. “We never talked about this before, I don't remember dying and I didn't think to tell you, if I die don't revive me or if I die revive me. One day I was in Gotham on the roof of a building talking to Gordon, I felt a blow on my head, and then I am in a cave across the ocean coming out of radioactive water.”

“Are you upset?”

“Dying is important for life, we would not value our existence if we knew that with one submerged in the water everything would return to normal. I'm not angry, my departure must have been a surprise for you too and I understand why you made this decision.” Richard puts his thumb on the boy's cheek. “It would have been different if I had had a death bed, you had more time to face it or I could have told you directly that death is something natural and we should not alter the order of nature.”

Damian lowers his gaze.

“I'm not scolding you, at some point while I was at home with nothing to do, I came to think, if I died, Damian would try to take me to a Lazarus pit. When I came to that thought I knew it was time to step back and take care of something else.”

“If you want to go back to Gotham, you can, I don't want to force you to be with me.” The boy sounds even sadder if that were possible.

“What happened to that thing: _Mother_ _if we left Gotham so Richard wouldn't be in danger, he'd have to be crazy to go back there_?” The colors go up in the kid's face.

“Wait, how much do you remember?”

“Everything since I got out of the pit. It was so embarrassing to have to wear diapers.” Dick laughs. “I feel like one of those fetishists, I really appreciate what you did for me.”

“You don't have to thank me.”

“You left everything you had in Gotham for me.”

“There were only lunatics in Gotham, it wasn't that impressive.” Even with his gaze turned away, the kid continued to speak. “To tell you the truth, I only stayed there because I could be with you.”

“I heard Batman wasn't too happy about this, I assume you revived me without his permission.”

“A little bit.”

“How do you revive a person just a little?” Dick sounds fun, a little smile forms on the boy's lips. Damian presses his face against his chest again, Richard rests his jaw on his hair. “So, you want to have an ordinary life? No heroes, no league of assassins. I have to admit that at one time I thought I had an ordinary life but didn't see it as possible.”

“You don't have to do this if you don't want to. My father said you're welcome to come back.”

“We're welcome, both of us, you and me.” Evident the major. “Damian you crossed the Pacific Ocean, you were 12 years old, I don't know how you did it, but you beat Batman just to get me back to life, this is not just my life, you took care of me and fed me for almost a year with too much patience. I couldn't just walk away.”

“You don't have to feel any obligation.” The young man insists.

“Are you aware that I heard that last confession of I love you, Dick, I can't live without you and I need you very much?”

“I didn't say that.”

“Well, I think I overreacted a little, but you get my point. I can't leave after you confessed your love to me and I still haven't responded. I love you too, Dami. About the question, you asked me on our first day in the house in Pyongyang. My answer is no, not out of contempt and I could never do that.”

“Do you know why heliotrope?” Damian presses his face hard on his chest. “While we were living in Gotham, I felt like Clytie, spying on you from a distance. After you left the mansion, I didn't know how to get close to you, all the Leucothoe you went out with were as jealous as Clytie. After you died, I saw the opportunity to have you with me and I took it even if it was a little selfish. I didn't want to be Clytie anymore and spend my life just looking at you.”

“You've become quite talkative.” The child lifts his face and looks at his partner, he just didn't notice, so many months of having to talk to fill those silences. “I like it, you've let me see more of you, I feel I know you much better now. Don't stop.”

Richard has a huge smile on his face, the boy looks at him with a flushed face and then turns his gaze away from it to the window.

“Helios or Apollo was the sun god or the god of light depending on who tells the story. The youngest one continues, Dick looks at him curiously, he wasn't particularly knowledgeable about Greek folklore, but Damian always had something to say. “Sometimes you shine so bright that I can't look at you directly, right now you're doing it.”

“It's a rather particular way of paying a compliment.” Richard takes the face again, rubbing it with his hand. Pushing slowly on the head so the boy looks at it again. His eyes are red from crying, dry tears stain his cheeks, his face is hot, red from the accumulation of blood that makes him impossibly blushing. “But you have always been a very special boy. Thank you, Damian.”

“What are you thanking me for?” Richard wraps his arms in a bow to stay close to the little boy's ear.

“For loving me.” He whispers, pressing his cheek against the young man's. -The little hands are around him too. “What's the name of Helios' wife?”

“She's called Rhoda and she lived with Helios on the Island of Rhodes.” Dick runs his hand behind his back, caressing the little boy, and closes his eyes, delighting in his youthful voice. Even if she has heard him talking non-stop for almost a year, she simply can't get tired of hearing him.

“Rhoda, what else do you know about her?”

“Daughter of Poseidon and Halie, she had seven sons and a daughter with Helios.” Damian continues.

“You must not feel like Clytie, you're already Rhoda and this apartment is our island.” Dick can feel the skin as a child warming up. “We don't have seven children, but we have two. Titus and Pennyworth.”

“Will you stay with me?” The young man asks.

“Of course. Do you want to keep living like this? Domestic, quiet. Just us and the pets, it always seemed like a distant dream, something impossible.”

“The word impossible is not in my vocabulary.”

“I know.” Damian walks away, sitting on his knees and starts to open the buttons on his pajamas. “After a confession, people usually kiss Damian, third base comes much later.”

“Third base? We're not talking about baseball.” The minor continues until all the buttons are open.

“What I meant was, why are you opening up my pajamas?”

“Because it was badly closed and it bothers me that things aren't done right.” Dick puts his hand on her belly before Damian closes the buttons again.

“I've gained some weight, I still have some muscle, but I should get back to exercise soon.”

“There's a gym a few blocks away.”

“Should I get a job first, maybe as a clerk?”

“I can pay for whatever you need.”

“Aren't you a little young to be a Sugar Daddy?”

“You don't need to work; I'll take care of the expenses.”

“You've supported me for a year, this house is huge, it's in the luxury area of the province I don't want to know how much it cost. There are two Teslas in the garage, you just gave me this Apple thing that costs more than I earned in a whole year as a cop and I don't want to list all the excessively expensive appliances.”

“I'll pay for everything and it's not up for discussion. Tomorrow's Saturday at the supermarket, I'll give you money to buy whatever you want.”

“I feel like a wife in the '50s”

…

Dick walks through the door carrying the overpriced gym bag Damian bought him, wearing the unnecessarily expensive sportswear the boy insisted on wearing. While they were shopping, the teenager prevented him from seeing the prices and threw away the receipt so Richard would not know the amount of the transaction. Mrs. Kim who helped them and kept them company the last few months is sitting next to Damian at the table. There's a manila envelope in the middle of them.

“I can't accept such an amount young, it's too much.” The woman insists.

“It's the least I can give him after he helped us so much.” He's trying to persuade Wayne. He inherited his father's generosity.

“Damian, I'm home.” Announces Dick taking off his shoes to leave them in the driveway. Maybe the kid chose an Asian country because of the cleaning traditions.

“Welcome.” The minor answers by turning around to look at him.

“I'll go take a bath. Will we take Titus for a walk?” The Major asks as he enters the house. “Mrs. Kim, good afternoon. What brings you here?”

“Good afternoon dear, I coming to pick up my last payment, but Damian insists on giving me more than we agreed on. I can't accept what he's offering me is too much.” She explains. Dick looks at the owner of the house giving him one of those looks.

“You said your daughter will be entering college this spring, please accept that.” Ask Richard. “An extra income won't hurt.”

The woman sighs wearily, not sure how long she was arguing nicely with Damian, takes the envelope from the table and stands up.

“I really appreciate it. If there's anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to call on me.”

She ends up leaving the house, Richard walks up to the youngest one, taking his cheeks, raises his little face, and deposits a soft kiss on his forehead.

“Titus already walked today, but you can spruce up Pennyworth, he's been scratching a lot lately.” Answers Damian. “I'll serve dinner.”

Dick comes back clean and tidy; the table is set.

“I didn't ask you where you learned to cook.” Says Richard sitting down, and taking the utensils. The youngest one also takes his place by filling his glass of water.

“I bought a book of recipes when we were in Pyongyang, I also read some I found in the mansion.”

“Is there anything you can't do?”

“With enough practice, you can do anything.” Show off the minor by putting the spoon in his mouth.

“It will take me at least two more months to recover my condition,” Grayson explains. “I was thinking I could work as a gym instructor.”

“You don't need to work.” Damian insists.

“How will I spend my day?”

“You have a TV and all the YouTube videos you can watch.” Damian drinks from his glass. “You'll do the cleaning; I'll do the cooking.”

“I think I'm the wife in this relationship.”

“I'll give you a checkbook, no; cash is better. That way they can't trace us. Make an estimate of how much you need a week and I'll give you the cash.”

“I'll die of boredom in here.”

“No one has ever died of boredom.”

“Well, I'll be first.”

“Don't be dramatic, Grayson.”

“It's not about the money, I'm used to working.” Damian sighs, there’s nothing more domestic than having an argument with your partner over money.

“I'll give you money and set up a pet store.”

“I could teach self-defense classes.” Damian thinks about it.

“No, it's too risky, plus you'd need a license.”

“From gymnastics, I'm a highly trained acrobat.”

“Artistic gymnastics.”

“Yes, artistic gymnastics.” Accept Richard.

“I think it's okay, I'll be your sponsor. We can buy the place next door.”

“You're using the word sponsor to sweet-talk me.”

“No, but we should also look for a contractor.”

“I'll pay you what you invest in this business.”

“It's not necessary.”

“Damian!”

“What?”

“I'll pay for it.”

“Yes, yes, of course. Whatever you say, Grayson.”

“When we finish dinner you could help me, I think I pulled my back and it's bothering me.” Ask the oldest.

“You're out of shape.”

…

The dinner dishes have been washed and drained, Dick is lying face down on the living room carpet. Damian is sitting on it with his little hands pressing against his back. He moves his fingers over the muscle that feels particularly stiff.

“Do it harder.” Pay Grayson. Damian leans on his knees using his weight to cause more pressure. Dick lets out a moan when he notices the change.

“Like this?”

“Yes, you're doing fine, just a little faster.” The boy moves his arms, rubbing the naked skin.

“It's really hard. How did this happen?” Dick bites his hand; he doesn't like the way that conversation is going.

“A bad move,” the little hands rub it faster. Feeling slippery from the balm he's used. Damian gasps behind him. “Looks like it's not just me who's out of shape.”

“It's not a kind of move I'm used to making.” His youthful voice sounds heavy. “You really are so stiff; how could you walk back?”

“I came home with a bullet in my arm, this is nothing.” The words could be interpreted in a different context, and Damian panting to the rhythm of his hand movements is not helping much. The first thing he did when he regained his will or his soul or whatever it was to touch himself. It was a long time without caressing his body, he remembered the teenager giving him kisses every day. It completely stopped when Dick became Dick again.

“But this is very tense, really. I'll put more cream on to make it easier.” Richard wondered if the boy would let himself be kissed again. What expression would his face have? Dick meant real kisses, not the ones Damian had given, take him by the hair and press him against the couch or the bed or the bar or whatever surface was in his way, make him open his thin lips, suck his little tongue until he was out of breath.

Those thoughts were becoming dangerous, the minor drops his weight on Grayson's lower back, he is light, about 99 lb. maximum, his little hands press him hard taking the time to loosen the muscle. Dick moans, he doesn't know if it's because the pain is gone or because of the warmth of the boy on him. If he tried something else Damian would stop him? If he asked him to lie down on the couch and let him fuck his thighs would he do it? Would he know what it was about? Better yet, if he tried to get inside the boy, would he accept it? Would he cry? What would his voice sound like?

Close your eyes, imagining the boy. His face is red, wet with tears and sweat, his lips open, panting as he did before, calling out to him in his crying, sobbing voice. Praying for more, for Dick to stain him harder, taking him by that impossibly narrow waist. Bouncing him back, screaming at the rhythm of the blows on his tender flesh, curving his thin body...

“Grayson, I'm done.” The kid's monotonous voice brings him back to reality, his limb throbs hard in his pajamas, he turns around placing his hand on the boy's waist as a sign that he shouldn't leave, Damian stands up a little, giving the older one room to move. When Dick has finished becoming the old Robin, he drops to his brother's hip. The hardened dick pushes against the teenager's ass. “Richard, this…”

The elder takes with both hands the small waist, pulling the boy a little forward and backward, showing him how to move by inviting him to do so. The teenager understands this, starting to move his hips at the pace his brother has already set. The innocent face turns red, Dick puts his hand under the boy's shirt touching the tender skin, squeezing it on his fingers. His limb settles between the warm cheeks being pressed by them.

The small, still wet, creamy hands rest on the muscular chest, Damian leans over his mentor, with his delicate lips open, approaching Dick. He breathes heavily, his pink tongue peeking out between his teeth, pressing against his palate, savoring the contact in advance.

“Damian, Mommy's here.” Talia's voice makes the boy stop. Dick looks at her behind the boy, his expression is indescribable. “Richard Grayson barely regains consciousness and the first thing you do is attack my son.”

“It's not what you think, Talia.” He's trying to defend himself.

“Get your filthy hands off Damian now.” Dick pulls his hands out from under the kid's clothes, dropping his arms on the carpet. The young man stands up from the floor somewhat embarrassed, shaking his clothes.

“Can I offer you some tea? Mother.” The teenager walks into the kitchen.

“Water's fine, son.” Dick clears his throat, taking his place in the three-seater, Talia goes to the singles. His hard-on is gone by scare. The woman looks at him with her eyes closed and whispers in annoyance. “Listen to me, Richard. If you touch my son in an inappropriate way, I'll make sure that thing between your legs never works.”

“Here you go, mother.” Says the child giving a glass to his mother.

…

Richard opens his eyes; Damian is not by his side like he is every day. It is strange to wake up alone, he gets out of bed slowly, puts on his slippers, from the bedroom door he shares with his beloved he can see the kitchen bar perfectly. The smell of eggs and bacon reaches him as soon as he shows his face outside. Even if the boy does not eat meat, he continues to cook animal foods for Dick. The old Nightwing frowned deeply as he looked at a man sitting in the kitchen, watching the kid by the stove.

“Good morning, Richard.” Damian turns around as soon as he hears the door close. He still has very developed senses. “He's the contractor, Mr. Lee. I told you he'd be here today.”

“God, I forgot.” Grayson hits his face, tries to fix his hair. On the bright side, at least he's dressed. “Richard Grayson, nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine, Mr. Grayson.” The man answers Dick takes a place at the side of the worker. “I took the liberty of looking at the building, young Wayne showed me what his plan was, and I made some small plans. You can look at them.”

The man moves a scribbled notebook to Richard. Damian leaves two plates of food on the bar; the young man takes his own fret in his hands and approaches the plans to see them. He grew a few inches that year, was reaching 5'4" but still had to tiptoe to get the boxes from above the refrigerator.

“I like this design.” Says Wayne pointing to one of the drawings.

“That's very good, in the middle is the court and on either side are the bars and rings.” Speaks the man moving his hands through the book. “As you can see here we should put up a wall to make a small hall...”

Start explaining the contractor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments <3


	4. Can you help me? occupy my brain.

Damian wakes up too early for Dick's taste. He recently discovered a market that sells organic products that he only puts on in the morning. He leaves his warm bed as soon as 6:30 am, spends some time showering and preparing. At 7:30 he leaves the house taking Titus with him. He comes back a little after 9 to ask Richard and Pennyworth to wake up, prepares breakfast. A few minutes before 12:00, he says goodbye to Grayson in the hall so he can open his edifice.

There's the acrobat, sitting at the bar. Watching old Robin's back as he moves around the stove. The dog is running around the yard, he can see him through the glass door, the cat jumps up on the chair next to Dick and settles down to sleep. Damian is wearing shorts, a fact that is not very common, but it is early summer and according to the same young man's words spending energy on something as banal as putting air conditioning throughout the house is not friendly to the planet. So, they only turn it on in the room at night.

“Anything, in particular, you want to eat today?” Ask Damian, coming to the sink to wash his hands. Dick bites into the toast, leaving the leftovers back on the plate.

“Everything's fine.” Answers the oldest.

“That doesn't help me at all.”

“I don't know what to ask for, I'm not very knowledgeable about haute cuisine.

“Ask for anything, I can do it.”

“Alfred made some banana-nut muffins that I really liked.” Comments the acrobat.

“You want our lunch to be cupcakes?”

“Did you mean lunch?”

“Yes,” Damian goes around the bar and sits on the other side of Dick.

“So, anything's fine.”

“You're doing it again.” The teenager has already started to get angry, Dick smiles at him holding his cheeks. Looking at the youthful face, he wants to kiss him. The thought has been in his head since Talia's interruption a couple of months ago, the woman continues to arrive at the house, without warning and without showing any specific pattern. She approaches Damian's face, leaving a small kiss on his forehead, then on his nose.

“Well, I want some lasagna.”

“Lasagna?” A clear grimace of disgust forms on the boy's face.

“You don't like it?”

“It's not my favorite, but I'll do it.”

“I was thinking of opening another group, some mothers talked to others and also want to register their children,” Dick says without letting go of Damian's face.

“Sounds good to me, just don't exceed 8 hours a day.” Reject the minor.

“Of course, it's a stressful job, very difficult.” The teacher says it's fun. “If I add two other groups, I would be opening at 12 and closing at 6, it's a good schedule, plus I have an hour of food to come home to.”

“It'll be lasagna then.” Accept the boy, Dick smiles again. Damian hasn't tried to kiss him either, not even the little kisses he used to give him. He just waits for Richard to make his move, but that day he seems to take the initiative; he puts his hands on Richard's thigh and leans over him. The instructor still holds his face, he also bows, his foreheads meet, Wayne can feel the warm breath against his mouth, he separates his lips, noticing the taste of butter and coffee in his beloved's mouth.

The little hands go up, touching the chest with their open palms. Dick puts his hand between the dark threads, his hair is growing very fast, the bangs already cover his eyes, he should tie it in a ponytail. The smell of burning bread floods the romantic atmosphere that had formed.

“Damian the stove! You left the stove on!” The boy's eyes open in surprise, he jumps over the bar to take the pan and put it on the sink. A delicious sandwich wasted.

…

The teenager slams his foot on the angry floor, looks at his watch, looks at the timer on the oven, the timer on his phone, and the counter on the appliance itself. The kitchen is a mess, flour, eggs, milk are spilled on the bar, the floor, and even the walls. The 4 alarms sound at the same time, he rushes to open the oven with his gloves on. Again, he frowned even more angrily. It's the fifth tray of pastries he's ruined.

He has run out of ingredients, so he throws the 24 cupcakes in the trash can to join the hundreds of others. None of them have come out of that tray. He goes over the recipe for the thousandth time that afternoon. On a plate in the refrigerator there are only two desserts that came out well, 2 out of 120, he is following the recipe to the letter, preheating the oven to the correct temperature, putting the ingredients in the same order, his dough looks like in the video and the few that manage to go up to look like the ones in the Youtuber. But some are very raw, others for some reason are burned.

His apron is dirty with flour and reeks of egg. He needs 40 minutes to prepare another tray, it will take you 15 minutes to go to the convenience store and return home. It's 5 pm and Dick will be back by 6. He hasn't prepared anything else for dinner because he thought he could eat the cupcakes with some coffee or tea. He scratches his head in anger, he only has two pieces of bread that look a little better than the others, which are not raw or burnt.

Even Pennyworth has been affected by Damian's battle with the cupcakes. The cat's black fur has flour in it, too. The teenager sighs, taking off his apron, his clothes don't look any better than the house or the cat. He takes his wallet and the keys to the house. 15 minutes, could be 10 if he runs. He runs into the store, takes everything he needs, rushes to the checkout, paying without stopping for change. He starts repeating the recipe for the sixth time that day.

He weighs the ingredients carefully, puts the thermometer in the oven, and with his little trembling hands he puts the tray in. He has 20 minutes to clean up the mess he made before Dick returns, starting by throwing away the empty containers, the huge mountain of dirty dishes that piled up in the sink. He shakes the bar, there's some dry mix stuck to it, with a wet cloth he finishes cleaning. The next thing is the floor, he looks for the vacuum cleaner in the cupboard, picking up as much flour as he can. The timer says it's been 15 minutes.

Take the tray out of the oven by chopping the 24 loaves with a toothpick. Two more, out of 24 only two are well baked and have risen. He takes them out of the molds to take them to the freezer, they must cool down, the rest accompany in the garbage to the other failed attempts. He washes the tray by returning it to its place at the bottom of the cabinet. Wipe Alfred a bit, the kitchen is already fixed. He has in a pastry bag the vanilla cream to decorate them, he takes out the two that are in the refrigerator, the other two still need a little colder.

“I'm home, sorry I'm late, I couldn't find my key and I looked everywhere... What happened to you?” Dick stops as soon as he crosses the hall, looking at the boy in amazement. He's in shorts, he's started wearing them more often, more than Grayson would like. His legs are stained with white powder, as is his shirt, he has flour in his hair, in his face as if he had tried to put makeup on with that ingredient.

“Don't ask.” Answers the young man, Dick hurries leaving his bag on the table, advances to Damian who finishes decorating two single cakes.

“Looks like you got in a fight with a sack of flour and he beat you.” Richard takes a damp cloth to rub on Damian's face.

“He didn't beat me; it was a draw. But next time I'll win.” He says with extraordinary conviction the younger one. Dick takes one of the cupcakes off the plate, removing the mold and bringing it to his mouth to bite. Damian looks at him expectantly, he hasn't tasted them, he bit into some of the burnt ones, but the taste was not distinguishable, on the other hand, the icing and the cream should make them better. A huge smile is painted on Richard's face as he chews the bread.

“Damian, this was your masterpiece.” Dick talks with his mouth full, looking at the cupcake, praising the boy's work. “Mm-hmm. They taste even better than Alfred's. Why did you only make two?”

“I made four because I was just trying out the recipe, I had a little time off and I tried.” The kid's lying.

“It went very well; I could eat a hundred of these.” Comments Dick, finishing the dessert. “Can I have the other one?”

“Yes, I made them for you.” Answer the minor. “I'll finish glazing the other two while you take a bath.”

“I think the one who needs a bath is someone else.” Dick approaches the boy, hugging him from behind, closing his arms over the boy's stomach.

“If you say so for Pennyworth, I'll give him a bath at the weekend.” Damian defends his cat, licking the cream off his finger.

“I meant you,” Dick sticks his nose into the teenager's hair. “You smell like eggs and vanilla.”

“I'll take a bath after you do.” Dick pushes the child against the bar, squeezing his hips toward the boy's back, puts his hands on the apron, touching it above the apron. He shouldn't be touching Damian like that, not when Talia can walk in at any time, or not at all. It's a coin flip. “Don't you want to take a shower with me?”

Whispering near the young man's neck, smelling of banana, vanilla, and sweat, Dick wants to bite into the tender flesh so badly. Damian makes no attempt to push him or leave, he moves his face to look at Grayson, his nose is even closer than it was that morning. The boy's hands take his brother's arms, holding him close. Just a little, they just need a little bit, to touch his lips just enough. Then he forces his head back to kiss him as no one else has ever kissed him before. Something sounds wrong with that plan. Damian closes his eyelids.

It's just a few inches, a little more, just a little more to finally kiss Damian, Damian who is almost 14. What was the age of consent in that country? he should look it up later and if Talia had cameras in the house. No, that wasn't possible, plus he wasn't doing anything wrong, it was just a kiss. A small, short, quick one, he'd just put his lips together quickly and then do nothing else.

He's going down a rough road, Damian should be stopping him, not standing there with his pretty lips open and his eyes closed waiting to be kissed. How many months has it been? Longer than you'd both like, Dick's pressing the little guy's chin, closing his mouth. Just like he said, it's short and quick, so much so that he barely feels the boy's heat. He just presses his lips a little to loosen his grip and back away.

He couldn't just kiss him, if he kissed him like he wanted to, he'd want to go further. He didn't know the laws of that country, worse still he had Talia behind his neck with a sword waiting to castrate him if he did something to Damian.

“Or you could use another bathroom. There are four in this house.” Dick turns around to go into the room he shares with Damian. “You can use the one in our bedroom, I'll take a bath in the second bedroom.”

Dick's sitting in the tub. He takes his phone off the shelf, moving it between his fingers. A quick search, just out of curiosity, it's not like he's doing anything anyway.

…

Damian carries some bags in his hands, Titus walks beside him. The dog is so well trained that he doesn't need a leash to go for a walk, both walk back home. The teenager carries another couple of pounds of flour to try his luck again, he just can't believe that a task as easy as cooking, having precise instructions, has gone wrong. He sighs as he drops his shoulders, turning the bad pieces of bread into compost for the little garden they had so he wouldn't waste food.

**"Baking classes with international chef Ji Mina. Open enrollment"**

Re-read the ad, stopping in front of the store. He just can't believe it. He opens the doors of the store, leaving Titus sitting outside.

“I'm interested in the baking classes,” Damian says to the woman across the counter.

“Of course, you could fill out this form.” She answers, giving a sheet and a pen. Damian reads the requirements, being 15 or older, he'll be 14 in a few days, 15 in that country so he was practically 15. The monthly cost of 260,000 won, including materials and utensils. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. From 11:00 to 03:00, he will have time to make lunch. Return the full format to the woman. “We're expecting you next Tuesday, Mr. Grayson Al Ghul.”

The boy leaves the premises smiling.

…

The boy scowls even in bed, runs his hand over the mattress in search of his beloved. Grayson's gone. Damian opens his eyes wide, Grayson's gone. He gets out of bed without putting on his slippers or robe. He runs to the door and slams it open. Dick, who's near the stove, turns with surprise at the scourge on the wall. The youngest one sighs, looking at Richard. It's still dark outside, it's not even 6 a.m.

“What are you doing up at this hour?” Interrogating Damian from the room, moving around the room until you reach the bar.

“I woke up early to make you breakfast, but things didn't go as I expected,” Dick explains, Damian stares at the sink. A pan with something black, by the smell it could be flour or burnt oats. A dirty board and a bowl of fruit that is not exactly well chopped.

“You didn't have to do that.” Says Damian.

“Today is your birthday, I wanted to do something special.” Richard leaves the bowl of fruit he cut up in front of the child.

“Thank you.” The boy answers, carrying the watermelon in his mouth. “Although it's very early.”

“Do you want to go back to sleep?”

“Yes.” Damian pushes another piece of fruit into his mouth.

“I'm not working today.” Dick begins. “I think it's better if we go back to sleep and have breakfast outside.”

“I'll finish the fruit.” Answer me.

“Is there anything else you want to do today?” Damian denies it. “I thought we could go see the art museum and the national, maybe after that we'll go see a movie.”

“Are you asking me out on a date?” Damian answers with his face in his hands.

“Yes, we're living together and haven't even been on a date yet.” Dick comes over, messing up the hair. “Let's go back to sleep.”

Damian is carrying a teddy bear, the upper half of his body is white, the other half black. They are carrying two bags from a bakery store they found on the way. Dick turns off the car, opening the trunk as the boy exits the vehicle. Richard takes the bags and they both go through the laundry room to the kitchen. The bear is placed on one of the chairs and the bags on the bar, Dick sits next to the bear.

“Did you have fun?” Grayson asks, watching Damian take his utensils out and put them in the sink.

“Much, maybe I could become a painter and exhibit my art here.” The boy answers, sections the dishes to put them in the low wash, jumps up, and sits on the bar looking at Dick from the side.

“I've only seen you draw lately. What happened to your paintings?” Grayson insists.

“Some stayed in Gotham and others in Pyongyang.” Damian scratches his head, crawling over the wood to face the older. “I'll buy canvas and paint next week.”

Dick comes over, wrapping his arms around Damian's waist.

“I have a question.” Grayson gets up, the height of the bar makes up for Damian's, now you can look into his eyes. The teenager spreads his legs, wrapping them around the gymnast.

“Tell me, maybe I can answer it.” One of Dick's hands go up the boy's back to the back of his head, the other closes on the hip and brings them closer together.

“This country has a somewhat peculiar system with the ages.” One of Damian's hands takes Dick's waist, with the other hand around his neck, raising his face to close the distance as much as possible. “How old are you really? Fourteen or fifteen?”

“Enough.” The teenager answers.

“Enough for **what?** Damian.” Richard sinks his face into the thin neck, his lips barely touching the tender flesh.

“For whatever you're thinking.” The older one opens his lips, sucking the skin from the junction of his shoulder and neck, and goes up to his ear. Damian sighs, taking the hair between his fingers.

“I remember reading sixteen.” Grayson's hand is squeezed on his hip.

“Yeah, I think I forgot to tell you, but I'm actually turning 16 this year.” Damian sticks his lips out and tilts his head, Richard kisses his cheek. That day, finally it's just a kiss, he won't do anything else until the youngest is 15, 16 in that country. Dick can feel the cinnamon on Damian's breath, it must taste amazing.

“Why do I always have to find a scene like _this_ when I arrive?” Talia has her arms crossed over her chest, goes forward taking one of the knives from the bar with clear intentions of stabbing the older boy. But she's not alone, behind her is Bruce, with him, Alfred, Jason, Tim, and Barbara.

“Talia?” Dick turns his face to the entrance. “You? How?”

“Mother?” Bruce rushes in, grabbing the woman by the waist, and taking the gun out of her hand. “Father, what are you doing here?”

“I'm here to celebrate your birthday, dear.” Says Talia. “I ran into your father and his whole circus at the airport.”

“What are the others here for?” Damian's still got his legs on Dick, the kid's groping for something over the sink. Richard stops him as soon as his little hand closes on an ice pick.

“To celebrate you, Master Damian, last year we couldn't be together.” It's Pennyworth speaking, breaking down that barrier that's been created between the groups by entering the kitchen. “Since you can't bring food into this country and we flew about 20 hours, I brought the ingredients for that strawberry cake we ate on her 12th birthday. I hope you don't mind if I use your kitchen.”

“No problem. I'll show you where things are.” The boy finally lets Dick down from the bar, approaches the butler.

“They can sit at the table.” Dick offers, the feeling of discomfort is still in the air. “On the couches or we can go to the patio, I think the patio would be better.”

The former hero rushes to open the garden door, a table for six people and two three-seat chairs are waiting for them. The rest of the family look at each other, but they follow him.

“Do you want something to drink, water, tea, a soda?” Ask Dick as the guests begin to take their places.

“Tea, Richard, red, sweetened with honey.” Answer Talia.

“Tim, Jason, Barbara? Can I get you anything?” He insists.

“I'm fine with a soda pop, Dick.” Reply Tim.

“Don't you have any beer? The warmness here is fucking humid.” Jason pulls on his shirt, wet with sweat.

“There should be some, but I'm not sure you'll like the taste.” Reply Grayson. -What about you, Babs?

“I'm not going to sit here and pretend this is all normal,” Gordon answers, the look Talia gives him is one of pure hate.

“If you have any problems, you can leave.” Riposte Al Ghul.

“I didn't come here to watch you and Damian playhouse, just because these guys have already forgiven the brat doesn't mean I have.” Barbara, look at Richard. “I want to know if you're ok, you know you're welcome back anytime. Dick your home is in Gotham, with us your family, not this kid...”

A wooden chair is thrown against the redhead, hitting the wall and shattering. Bruce, Alfred, and Damian leave the kitchen when they hear the noise.

“Go away.” Scream Talia, hitting the edge of the table with your open palms. Jason stands up, waiting for the next move, ready to stop any fight. “If you came here to ruin **my son's happiness** , leave now or I'll kill you.”

Talia reaches into the opening of her dress, taking the dagger she keeps in her thigh.

“What's going on?” Bruce goes out in the yard.

“This woman came here only to bother Damian.” Accuses the assassin. “Make her leave now, detective. If I let you see our son, it was under conditions and this fool is breaking them.”

“Barbara.” Bruce looks at Gordon.

“Bruce, are you gonna let this woman manipulate you?” Gordon's accusing again. “None of this is normal, that kid tricked us, set up this whole ruse to get Dick. You can't just pretend it's okay, you can't come here like you're visiting your newlywed son, what we saw when we got here either...”

“Barbara.” Tim who had stayed away speaks. “Dick is alive and well, he has a normal life. No one got hurt, even though I don't want to admit it, I'd rather he was here than dead.”

“Tim you too? Jason says something, you're with me, right?” Gordon prays.

“I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Tim. They have a nice house, a dog, a cat.” Jason rubs Titus' head. “Dick seems well-fed, he even works and everything. When it comes to Damian, I would have imagined a basement with no windows and Dick chained to the floor.”

“What kind of sick man do you think I am?” Damian scowls deeply from the door.

“You don't want to hear the answer.” Jason sits back down. “It seems to me that it's okay and if we came here in the first place it was to tell you that there were no hard feelings.”

“Go away.” Talia insists. Gordon gets up, pushes his way through the door, stops to look at Damian.

“I haven't forgiven you and I'll never forgive you.” The girl barks, leaving the courtyard. “I'll wait at the hotel.”

“Damian, Dick.” Bruce looks at the kid, trying to break the tension. “You can go back to the mansion at any time you want.”

“They're forgiven.” Jason raises his arms. “I really don't know why, but we've already forgiven them. Now, someone offered me a beer and I don't see it anywhere.”

“I'll go get it.” Answer Dick. Red tea and soda. “Can I get you anything, Bruce?”

“I'll have a soda, too.” Bruce takes the place that Barbara left.

“I'll be right back.” The acrobat answers.

“Pennyworth. Can you give me the recipe for the blueberry cookies?” Says Damian.

“It'll be a pleasure, master, to go back inside and I'll write it down on a sheet.”

“How's business, Talia?” Ask Jason looking at the woman.

“Wonderful, better than Bruce would like.” She answers, looking at the man. “Why didn't the kitten come with you?”

“Things didn't work out.” The man replies, without changing his expression.

“Does that mean I have a chance?” Talia's asking.

“It means anything but that.” Bruce continues, Jason laughs. Dick's back with the drinks.

“Don't be so hard, my beloved. This time things could work out.” She insists.

“So, Dick, how's business?” Jason's trying to deflect the conversation.

“Oh, I'm teaching a gymnastic class next door.” Dick points to the front. “I started with a small group of 10 people and now I have 5 groups of 30. I think it's going well.”

“That's excellent. Tell us more.” Tim takes his soda

A small pile of boxes is on one of the couches. Dick is still eating the leftover cake and separating the garbage, Damian sits looking at the boxes. Jason, Tim, and Alfred have brought him gifts, Talia brought a picture of the Batcow and Jerry in the sanctuary. Bruce recovered all the paintings that were in Gotham as well as his sketchbooks. Richard looks curiously at the pile of paintings that are piled up on the dining room table.

“Can I see them?” Ask Grayson.

“What?”

“The paintings. Can I see them?”

“Yeah, no problem,” Damian responds by opening the gifts, a small set of haberdashery tools, brought by Alfred. A couple of cat-faced keyrings from Tim and a bottle opener, obviously from Jason. “I feel this is more of a tribute than a birthday present.”

“What did you bring? The heart of an enemy, the blood of a virgin woman.” Dick laughs looking at the paintings.

“No.” Damian's laughing too, picking up the pair of key chains. he'd give the other one to Dick.

“This is me?” Increase Grayson.

“What?”

“This one, in the painting. Is it me?” Damian turns to look at the painting Richard's holding up. A green garden can be seen in the background, there are flowers in pots on the ground. But the landscape is not the important thing, a man is crouched near the flowers, there is a metal watering can in his hands. He wears a straw hat and has a big smile.

“Yes.” Answers the minor a little embarrassed. Dick raises the following chart.

“This one too.” The same man, now sitting in a huge chair in a library.

“Yes.”

“And this one.” The background is full of various objects as if it were an antique shop, in the middle of the painting, and highlighted by the light coming in through a window, again Dick. sitting on a wooden rocking chair, with Pennyworth on his legs.

“Yes, are you”

“You never showed them to me.” Says Richard walking to the couch. “You're very talented, we should put some in the house.”

“It's no big deal.” Damian leaves the key chains on the table.

“Well, this will be our home from now on, we should make it more welcoming.” Dick touches the young man's leg. “Displaying your art would make it much better.”


	5. I need someone to show me the things in life that I can't find.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, it's me again. I apologize for the delay, thank you, I love you very much.

The smell of ginger spreads throughout the house and even to the surrounding area. Dick holds Damian by the ankles watching the younger boy struggle to place the star on the top of the tree. Pennyworth hits one of the shiny spheres on the lower branches with her paw. Titus is lying down, looking through the glass door to the courtyard. Waiting for one of the humans to put on his shoes and run out into the snow.

Damian slowly descends sitting on the last step of the folding staircase, looking at Richard from above for the first time, puts his hands between his legs to lean closer to his beloved. Dick holds the sides of the ladder to prevent him from moving, the teenager slowly rests his palm on the teacher's cheek.

"Are you going to grow a beard?" asks the young man rubbing his thumb against the other man's face.

"I had thought about it, maybe it would make me look a little older," Grayson replies. He's leaning his face over his partner's hand.

"It didn't snow last year". Says Damian.

"Last year we spent Christmas Eve with Mrs. Kim". Answers Dick. "Did you make sure you sent her a present?"

"I did, you don't have to worry." The characteristic sound of the timer makes both of them look at the kitchen, Dick takes the young man by the waist down the stairs. "I could go down by myself."

" It's said: thank you. " Damian steps up to the bar taking his gloves. Richard is behind him, opens the oven door leaving the tray next to the cooker, turns the refrigerator over in search of the cake sleeves. "Oh, It Burns!"

"Tell me you didn't try to take a biscuit from the tray." Says the younger one and sounds furious, Damian comes back watching Dick suck his finger. "I already took them out of the oven, it's obvious they'd be hot."

"I've been waiting until morning to try one," Dick complains.

"They still need to cool down and then I'll decorate them".

"How much longer?" Grayson insists.

"Maybe an hour."

"Dami, I don't want to wait that long". The annoying snort boy opens the drawer with a spatula. He removes one of the biscuits from the tray to put it in the freezer, putting a jar of half-eaten ice cream on top of it.

"Take it out of the freezer in 3 minutes". The boy answers. "You can give me the brush on the top shelf.

"Won't anything happen to the little gingerbread man if you put him in the freezer?" The older man asks, opening the cabinet, takes the brush and gives it to the younger man. Damian takes off his gloves, puts on his apron, and starts to put the raw biscuits on another tray.

"No, it will be a little cold on the outside, but it will still be warm on the inside". He passes the brush over the tray, putting the little men on top, turns over, and opens the oven to put the next batch of biscuits on. "Take it out or it will get too cold".

"Why have you prepared so many little men?" questions Dick, opening the refrigerator to free the biscuit from its icy prison. Damian jumps up and sits at the bar looking at the oven. Grayson reloads next to him carrying the dessert to his mouth.

"Because you'll want to eat biscuits all week, I'll also take some for the exchange with my classmates".

"I might be a little jealous if I didn't know that all your classmates are married ladies with children".

"Maybe one of them will want to have an affair with a young boy". Dick coughs, pounding his chest. The biscuit has taken another path.

"Damian!" The teenager smiles funny at him. "Do you want me to die? Again."

"Of course not. How about the taste?" Wayne shakes his head to look at the older boy next to him.

"They're very good, you're very talented." Grayson eats the last foot of the gingerbread man. "Haven't you thought about selling your work?"

"I don't need the money."

"Sorry, my mistake."

"Besides, if I made them sell, I don't think they'd be as good." Dick looks at him with some curiosity.

"Why do you think that?"

"My teacher says the secret of good cooking is to do it with love in mind.

"So? If you sold your work, you wouldn't do it with love?"

"No, I only cook because I do it for you. I could pay the best chef in the world to prepare our food, but I know you're happier if I do it." Dick looks at the child in amazement, holding his palm to his mouth and hiding a smile.

"Damian," Richard approaches the boy, looking for a place between his legs. He circles the back with his arms resting his head on the teenager's shoulder. Wayne's hair has grown back a bit more under his chin. He smells like cinnamon and ginger, peach bath lotion and that extremely expensive perfume Talia gave him for his birthday. "You're being too cute today."

"I thought I was cute every day." The youngest one corresponds to the hug, passing his hands behind his partner's back. He can hear the slight tapping of a sphere falling from the tree, courtesy of Pennyworth possibly.

"You are, but today you've outdone yourself." Richard tightens his grip on the young man, rubbing the tip of his nose against his thin neck, climbing up to his ear and pulling his black hair back. Damian sighs, placing his hand on the back of the elder's neck. "Tomorrow we could go for a walk."

"What do you say?" Dick presses his lips to the young man's neck; he would try it just a little and nothing more. He opens his mouth slowly sucking the tender flesh, tasting the taste of the skin. Damian tilts his head, letting out an even heavier sigh.

"Christmas here is celebrated in pairs." He speaks against the boy's skin.

"You sound like a great connoisseur of Korean culture." Comments the teenager, Grayson can feel Damian rubbing the soles of his feet against the back of his legs.

"Didn't your mother call?" the instructor asks.

"My mother never calls, she just comes". Damian keeps his eyes closed, stroking the back of his beloved's neck. Squeezing the hideous Christmas jersey in his other hand. Dick sucks on the young man's neck again with subtlety, with no intention of making a mark.

"It's very embarrassing that she always finds us in situations like this." Grayson comments, the boy is warm, it's cold outside. It will feel good if he touches more of his skin. Richard finds the edge of the sweatshirt. He sticks his fingers slowly rubbing the warm skin with his fingertips. Damian lets out a gasp when the huge palm touches his back.

"You don't look very embarrassed to me." Talia speaks, she wears a huge red coat with white collar and cuffs, a black belt, and boots of the same color. She looks like a sexy version of Mrs. Claus.

"My God! How come you always take us by surprise?" Grayson takes his hand to his chest feeling his heart pounding. They can hear more people at the entrance taking off their shoes and coats.

"Because they both have their guard down." The woman replies, behind her, he can see Bruce, in a red suit. They are indeed Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Tim, Jason, and Alfred also with them. Dick opens the space between him and the young man, letting him get off the table. Batman carries a sack, which he leaves on one of the armchairs in the living room.

"Merry Christmas Master Damian. I see you have already started with the preparations for dinner". Pennyworth approaches the kitchen with Jason behind him carrying some plastic bags. "Gingerbread men, Santa's favorite, don't forget to leave the milk and biscuits for him".

"Santa Claus doesn't exist." Damian replies, while checking the bags.

"Shut up, shut up, what you say is a lie." Jason covers his ears with his hands. "Bruce said that, if he existed, he lived in the North Pole and had a reindeer with a red nose." Todd mocks.

"Aren't you too old to believe in fairy tales?" Damian attacks Jason.

"Aren't you too young to try to sleep with another man?" Hood answers.

"Jason!" Talia scolds, who has sat on one of the chairs in front of the TV. "We'll spend the night here since you insist on not having servants in the house. It seems that we'll have to prepare our rooms ourselves".

"The bedrooms are ready to be used." Grayson replies by opening the refrigerator. "But you are 5 and there are only 3 bedrooms available".

"Damian, I told you to choose a bigger house". Scolds Talia.

"I didn't expect to have visitors". Damian takes his second tray of biscuits out of the oven to join the others to cool down. Dick brings a cup of tea for Talia and eggnog for Tim. Bruce has finished arranging the gifts under the tree, he takes off his red hat and sits down on the couch.

"There are two sofas in the playroom." Tim looks at Grayson in amazement.

"Dick really? You say something like that in front of Bruce and Talia." Drake says, Richard looks at him in confusion.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Dick ponders. "Oh! Tim of course not that kind of game, what were you thinking? Jesus Christ!"

"Oops," excuses the younger one, taking the glass.

"I said there are two chairs in the recreation room and two others here." Dick continues.

"I'm not sleeping on a couch." Talia says angrily.

"Dick, we made a 20-hour trip, I don't want to sleep on a couch." Jason breaks the turkey's legs to start stuffing it. Alfred is pecking on the coffee table and Damian is inside the pantry looking for the condiments the butler asked for.

"I don't want to share a bed with anyone". Tim complains.

"Well, you sleep on the couch." Todd answers. “If I had to share a bed with someone, I'd want it to be with Dick".

Says the second brother, looking at the pantry door. Damian pokes his head out, looking at him with his eyes closed.

"Grayson is sleeping with me." Objects the younger Wayne.

"Sure, sure, just don't bite me." Answer Todd.

"Jason!" Scold Talia again.

"Mom, but Damian started it! You only give him a preference for being the youngest!" Jason teases.

"Don't call my mother, mother."

"Mother, look at him know he says you're not my mother." Dick contains a laugh, passing a glass of punch to Bruce and sitting with the rest of the family. "Dad, Damian is bothering me".

"Damian, don't bother your brother," Bruce replies. Alfred turns to look at the patriarch of the family. Jason stops with his hand inside the stunned turkey, Damian drops the bag of bread he was holding in his hands. Talia is petrified with the cup near her mouth. Dick and Tim blink quickly looking at the man dressed as Santa Claus. The bat has also missed having the family together.

"You heard our father; Damian don't bother me." He responds quickly to Jason not to break the atmosphere of trust that has formed and sticks out his tongue showing it to the younger brother.

"You taught me your language? How old are you?" Damian comes out of the cupboard. "Mother, you taught me your language."

Talia covers her mouth laughing, it's the first time she feels the warmth of a big family.

…

Dick blinks his hand on the bed finding that Damian is not with him, he sits on the mattress looking for the minor. He manages to observe him standing at the door to the garden, looking through the glass. He is wearing black trousers and one of Dick's sweatshirts, he turns around as soon as he hears that the older one has woken up.

"Grayson, it's snowing". The young man declares, Dick can see it perfectly. The little snowflakes falling in the courtyard accumulating to form a perfect white layer. The faint morning light passing through the glass, valorously illuminating the boy. Damian's hair is disheveled, the place he left on his bed still retains some warmth, a sign that he has not been awake long.

"You said it didn't snow last year." says the older one, wrapping himself in the sheets to leave his bed. "I don't remember much about how we spent Christmas except for Mrs. Kim's cake."

"We sat in the living room watching television". Damian replies without leaving his place. Dick arrives behind him wrapping his arms around the teenager's chest, covering him with the sheet.

"That was something I used to do quite a bit". Damian comes closer to his brother's chest, taking the arms above the cloth to cover him. "It's not the first time you've seen snow. Why are you so excited?"

"Last year I was waiting for the snow to fall. I wanted to go out and make a dummy like when we were in Gotham, but the snow just didn't come". Dick can feel his chest tightening, Damian must have felt very lonely. Even if he was there, his presence only served to remind the youngest of the good times.

"But this year the snow is already here". Grayson opens the sliding door by lifting the teenager. "Let's go out and make a doll."

"Are you insane? It's like minus 8 degrees outside, and we're not just wearing pajamas." Damian struggles trying to get out of the grip, Dick crosses the small, roofed courtyard. There are at least 20 centimeters of nine accumulated from the previous days, and he's still falling more. "Put me down, you idiot."

Grayson laughs, throwing the boy into the snow to let himself fall on it. Trying to wrap him up in the blanket. Dick takes a fist of snow to rub it into Damian's hair.

"What's the matter I caught you off guard?" Grayson jokes, the teenager pushes his brother. Starting to roll on the cold surface, he fills his little hands with snow trying to spread it on Dick as he did before. "What's with the hair? You're all messed up."

"Fucking Grayson." The youngest says angrily. Talia peeks out of the living room doorway watching the youngsters fight in the snow. Jason puts a cup of chocolate in his mouth while he checks the channels on the TV.

"Can you decide on a damn show?" Tim complains.

"Who cares, you don't even know Korean." Todd answers, Talia runs out the door wrapping herself in her jacket.

"Both of you, stop playing games and come inside. Pennyworth is making turkey sandwiches." The woman goes out into the small courtyard. The young people are rolling in the snow, their faces flushed with cold and wetness. Richard wraps his arms around Damian's waist as they both stop to answer the call.

…

Richard was right when he mentioned that Christmas in that part of the world was similar to Valentine's Day. When leaving the house, the day after Christmas one can see couples on the streets, holding hands, Damian rolls his eyes with some discomfort and walks through the door of the little shop. The girls lean out, a little trying to listen to the conversation. Wayne leaves a plate of biscuits on one of the benches and stands up.

"I'll be back a little late today". The youngest one calls out.

"That's because of...." Richard questions.

"It's my teacher's birthday." Damian answers.

"What about the new year's celebrations?" Grayson asks again.

"The new year here is until February."

"But Alfie and the others will call or maybe they'll come". The change in Damian's face alerts even the Dick students.

"It looks like the teacher's boyfriend got angry". One of them comments. The others look at each other curiously.

"Does anyone understand English? What did the teacher say?" Questions another.

"The teacher talked about..."

"You know I speak Korean, right?" Wayne says, looking at the young women. "We'll discuss that when I get back, I brought biscuits. I won't be making dinner tonight."

"That's fine." The older one puts his head down.

"You don't have to wait up for me." The younger one announces. While he shakes his trousers and leaves the place. Even if he had asked Richard not to wait for him, Damian was sure he would. The teenager opens the door slowly, neither the cat nor the dog is in sight, closes behind him and walks on tiptoe across the room.

"How was it? Did you have fun?" Grayson questions closing the refrigerator.

"Yes, we baked several birthday cakes. Maybe I'll make some for Titus' or Pennyworth's birthday." Wayne responds by leaving a plastic bag on the counter.

"It's a couple of hours to midnight..."

"In America it's still 30."

"Something is bothering you."

"Nothing bothers me." Damian answers by opening the bag.

"Richard leaves his glass on the bar and reloads it so he can look at the young man.

"Do you want to go back to Gotham?" Damian questions, looking him in the eye. They are in the twilight, but the light from the streetlights and the backyard is enough for them to see each other.

"Why do you ask that?"

"You looked so happy when the others came." Wayne breaks eye contact, taking the tray and pushing it in front of the other man. He circles the table to get into the kitchen.

"They were our guests; I couldn't see myself getting angry."

"You didn't answer my question, you're just making excuses."

"Damian."

"I don't want to keep you here by force, I told you." The boy opens the refrigerator and pushes another tray into it. He keeps it inside the fridge as if trying to check what food is left inside.

"No, you offered it to me before. If I wanted to leave I would." Grayson opens the tray to find a slice of cake with pink icing. The older one stretches out in search of a spoon.

"Did you tell those girls that I' m your boyfriend?" Wayne questions, his voice muffled by the inside of the fridge.

"They infused it; I didn't say anything. Do you mind?" Richard takes a spoonful to his mouth. "I can tell them you're my little brother."

"Is that what I am?" Damian closes the door and turns around to look at Richard. The tension that had broken a few seconds ago is now overwhelming. Dick blinks without taking the spoon out of his mouth. "Don't you have an answer for that?"

"No, I don't know how to answer." The Major answers by taking the utensil out of his mouth. "What am I to you Damian?"

"I'm sick of playing this game! How can you ask what you are to me?" The boy walks until he faces Dick. "I almost caused World War III for you, I abandoned my parents for you, I was, no! I'm willing to kill and die for you! What do you think I feel?"

"I don't know, I wonder too." Grayson crosses his arms over his chest.

"You know that...!"

"This is the first time we've fought in two years."

"This is not a fight!"

"You're yelling, it's a fight."

"I'm not fighting!"

"You have to tell me what's going on, we can't solve it if you're just screaming and asking cryptic questions."

"I can't be more direct with you! Do you love me as your little brother or as your lover? Just answer that."

"Don't you have any idea how illegal this is? You're 14 years old and..."

"And what the hell does it matter, I'm not asking you to marry me and have children.

"I can't reciprocate your feelings; I mustn't do it."

"So, you do?" He is standing, putting his fists on his hip. In the past Damian would have lost his mind just by telling her that he was too young. Right now, it was obvious that he was upset, Dick could see his thin arms shaking.

"I can't answer that question."

"Well, I'll try another one. You don't mind if I go out with someone?" Richard squints, his lips in a thin straight line.

"If that's what you want, I won't object. Who is it? One of the ladies in your class?"

"One of your daughters." Damian answers, Dick bites the inside of his cheeks. He nods slowly and gets up from the stool. Touching his pocket, Wayne raises his eyebrow and grimaces. "Won't you answer?"

"Give me a moment." Grayson finds the device in his pocket. Damian shakes his trousers as he heads into the room.

"With Richard Grayson?" A female voice says on the other end of the line.

"Yes?" Richard looks at Damian to lift the cat off the floor.

"How do you do? One of my girls' mothers told me about you." Maybe pushing Richard was not a good idea. Damian enters the main room, with the cat in his arms giving space for Dick to talk on the phone. He opens the wardrobe and starts to rummage through the clothes, leaving the clothes on the bed.

Damian sits on the mattress, undressing. He manages to confirm that Grayson is not indifferent to his feelings, the girl's story was only half true. The daughter of one of his classmates had recently joined the classes, she was a nice girl and he had spoken to her on a few occasions.

She threw her clothes into the laundry canister listening to Grayson walk around the room. Pennyworth climbs into bed and tosses and turns to settle down for the night. Damian closes the door behind him, not that he has come back to the beginning, he is now one step away from the end. One that could be good or could be bad.

"Let me discuss it with my sponsor." Dick strokes the cat's head, focusing on watching Damian come out of the bathroom, the minor looks at him with a disconcerting gesture. Richard concludes the call and addresses the teenager.

"I am the sponsor. What decision do I have to make?" The young man stands in the doorway.

"A woman called me."

"Bad start."

"She claims to be the coach of the Olympic gymnastics team."

"She has a way of checking."

"She'll come tomorrow."

"What's the problem?"

"She wants me to help the team, a couple of sessions a week". Grayson sounds like a kid asking for something. "But I don't have a weekday schedule, I should start earlier or work on weekends".

"And... how do I get in here?"

"We spend the weekends together, which I accept your offer means that we can no longer go for walks or do the shopping. How do we do it".

"You can choose what you want, you've done it since you started that job."

"I'll say no."

"No!"

"No? Isn't that what you want?"

"That's not what I mean, it's not sarcasm."

"Well, I think it is."

"I mean if that's what you want, that's fine, I won't get in the way. Can we sleep now?"

"You don't sound very convinced."

"How do I have to say it to sound convinced?"

"I don't know, maybe if you didn't look at me like you were planning to kill me and get me out of the country."

"I see you at night and in the morning, if you agree to teach earlier, we will see each other on the weekends as well. I can always get up a little earlier or sleep late. I also infer that because the Olympics are close by; the coach wants a foreign athlete. It will only be a couple of months, then everything will be back to normal".

"I hadn't thought about that."

"After that you could reduce your hours and charge more. It will give you prestige if it's real it's good. I'm not against it."

"I've told you that you look a lot like your father." Dick leaves his place in the bed, walking up to the teenager, opening his arms in a threatening hug.

"No and please don't repeat it."

"You are a very smart boy." The older boy takes the young man's face in his hands to look him in the eye.

"Can we sleep now?" Damian insists. Richard sighs, lowers his hands down the neck of the younger one bending down to bring his forehead closer to the youngest one.

"I'll take a bath." says the older one. "Wait in bed."

Damian grimaces, takes a short sigh and nods as he heads to bed to get his clothes. Dick opens the door giving the boy one last look, Wayne sees him over his shoulder giving him a crooked smile before going back to check his clothes. Grayson laughs as he slams the door, leaving the teenager in the privacy of his bedroom.

…

"How I look like?" Richard questions as he enters the kitchen. Damian yawns, rubs his eyes, and puts his cup of tea in his mouth. Grayson wears a black Adidas outfit, the one they bought earlier this year.

"I thought you were going to wear a suit." Wayne comments, taking a spoonful of last night's cake.

"I don't have a suit, but it's black, it's always formal, this must be nice." Damian raises his shoulders and blinks slowly looking at the elder. Dick looks at his phone over it while the teenager takes his dirty dishes to the sink. " She' s already here."

"Very exciting, I'll take Titus. Do you want anything special for lunch?" Questions Wayne, checking the shelves for his reusable bags. "Titus! Come here, boy, we're going out."

"Aren't you going to meet her too?"

"I'm not the shortened foreign schoolteacher."

"But you are the owner of the school."

"If you are making me money I can't object, just ask for a big amount. They pay for it with government resources."

"Damian." Richard scolds.

"Why that tone? I didn't say anything bad or offensive, whatever. I'm leaving, see you at noon." Grayson puts his hand to his face and comes out behind the boy. The dog runs in front, circling in the street and stopping to wait for Damian. In front of the building that serves as a school a woman stands hugging herself, raising her face looking relieved to see both of them foreigners.

Damian hisses behind Grayson, trying to walk faster to leave the conversation. The young woman bows as soon as the two of them come closer, Richard's hand grabs him by the cap of his sweatshirt preventing him from leaving. The youngest sighs, flies and bows back.

"We can go in, it's cold outside." Grayson offers without letting go of Damian.

"If I don't get there in time, they'll raise the market, and I won't find any fresh fruit." The slightest murmur annoys. He takes the hand that holds his clothes trying to get Grayson to let go. "And if that happens, you'll know me really angry."

"My sponsor won't be able to join us today, but he'll keep an eye on his phone in case I need to check something with him. Right?"

"No, I don't have my phone with me." Wayne confesses that he managed to remove the Grayson by hand and whistles to call the dog. "But you're older now and I told you what I thought. I'll bring you some cake when I get back."

Damian takes a second bow and runs after the dog.

"He looks like a very peculiar person. Is he your brother?" The woman questions.

"Something like that. "Richard opens the door, offering the girl to come in first. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Yeo. I'm a little bad with formalities, do you prefer Ms. Sung-mi?"

"Yeo is fine, I can call you Richard."


End file.
